I am soon to join you all on this thread (38 wks preg) but am having a difficult time making up my mind about breast feeding. At first I was 100% for doing it but the more I here, the more I am doubtful. Just about everyone I have spoken to who has breast fed tells me what a nightmare its been! - from problems with latching on, positioning, feeding constantly to baby not putting on enough weight. I'm beginning to think is it all worth it?? To top it all off, I heard the other day from a relative who was watching the news, that new research says there is no conclusive evidence that it does actually help prevent asthma, allergies, gastro enteritis etc as previously thought. (which was my main reason for doing it).

My nephew has eczema and gets a fair bit of tummy upsets and was breast fed for ten months! whereas at least 6-7 other friend's kids I know who were bottle fed are fit as fiddles!

What I would really like is some advice/stories from mum's out there who have done either and what their experiences have been. And also an honest account of what its like to breastfeed on a daily basis.

Lisa,
Not long to go now until you meet your princess huh?
Wishing you a very smooth time of it at labor.
My experience at bfing was the best ever.
I cannot gush enough about it.I just weaned my daughter off last week(it was as tough for me as for her, as I loved every minute of it)
The beginning was tough- the first 20 days- in the sense that sore nips, sleepless nights anyway due to peeing and pooing followed by bffing..
Once i got thru that first month,it was such a joy.She didnt have any problems latching on, so that was easy on me i think.And like i said after the 1st month,it was cakewalk- i have been guilty of having her with me on our bed on nights when i have felt tired,and fed her on auto pilot(as in just slept with her in my arms while she nursed and slept too)
That said,
she has always been healthy( on the smaller side), not chubby like other babies her age who have been supplemented.
She got her first cold at 5 months and i was upset as breast fed baby are supposed to have better immunity.
But then, she recovered very fast.
She never took to the bottle- i tried to introduce juice at 4 months, but didnt work- dont know if it was cause she loved my milk.

It has been a very convenient journey.. no heating , mixing formula, no sterilising, no need for baby to wail in hunger- theres always food ready..
found it convenient on holidays,flights etc when there have been times where hot water has not been available.

I have been bottle fed as a child,and am as healthy as a horse- but i chose to bf as i am a stay at home mom and research says it provides a head start to the baby esp. in the 1st 6 months.
Dhruvaa was exclusively bfed until 6 months when i introduced solids with only some success- 8 months was when she started eating decent amount of semi solids etc..
Of late she had been getting very cranky at night and i had to nurse her almost every hour at night as she wouldnt go back to sleep otherwise, so i decided with a heavy heart to stop.
In hindsight, i should have weaned her completely at 1 year or max 15 months to make it easier on her, but i still dont regret it a bit.

I hope this helped in some way.

Loads of hugs and good wishes and wishing you the very best in whatever you decide,I know you and dh will be the best parents ever!

I am b/feeding my 6 month old son. I was very lucky and have found it all very straightforward. Yes in the beginning it can be exhausting, and it takes a while to get the 'knack'! .....but I think it's worth it. I also expressed a bottle a day for DP to give, which gave me a break.

Some ladies find it very difficult and turn to formula, which is fine. Babies thrive on whichever they are given. I was given very good advice and support in hospital and they wouldn't discharge me until I felt confident in feeding.

You can also do some b/feeding and some formula you don't have to do exclusively one or the other.

I believe in the health benefits of b/feeding and hope to continue for a few more months yet. My son now feeds 4 times a day for 15 mins, so it's not so bad!

I b/f my twins til almost 11 months, and loved it. It was the best for them, and the most convenient for me. And I loved the feeling of love I'd get for them while feeding them, and pride that I could do that for my babies.

It was a tough start, and I bottle fed each fed too, until I learned to trust my body, then exclusively fed from the breast.

All I can say is try it, and stick it out for awhile. There's nothing saying you can't do both, I did, and they ate just fine.

I chose to formula feed my twins. I knew before they were born that I did not want to breastfeed.

My mother or husband could feed the babies while I was sleeping, so I got more rest. Making bottles is really easy, it takes about a minute (measure powder then add water and shake). It also meant that if I wanted a glass wine at night, I could have one. And with two newborns, some days I really needed a glass!

The only real negative for me is that formula is expensive, especially for two. I have no regrets about not breastfeeding, but only you can decide what is right for you and your family.

I'm a brand new mom - my son was born a week and two days ago - and I too was very apprehensive about breastfeeding beforehand, as most of my friends had either had trouble with it or at least said that it was more difficult than they thought. In the end I decided to give it a 100 percent, as I think it can be a great bonding experience.

My baby was very small so I was told I might have troble getting him to feed and latch. But everything has gone wonderfully, the day my milk really came in was painful and some days my nipples are sore, but having prepared myself well and enlisted a lot of support helped me get the latch etc. right from the getgo - and that really is the key to preventing the most horrible pains on your breasts.

Both my baby and I have benjoyed breastfeeding immensely - there's nothing better than seeing that I can help my baby, I can make him happy, just by offering him my breast. The experience has exceeded all my expectations. Plus, having pumped quite a bit on the days when my milk came in and I got quite engorged, I can definitely say that all that washing of bottles is not for me! When breastfeeding works it's really, really easy and enjoyable. This is not to say that it's always easy right from the beginning, but the payoff is big too. And even as such a "rookie"mom as myself I can already say that I made the right choice for myself, breastfeeding really is wonderful!

As for having to always be there for feedings, I'm intending to introduce the bottle later once we've been breastfeeding long enough - then I can pump and have my husband feed the baby while I'm out etc. Even now, if there was dire need for someone else to feed the baby, we could always use the syringe and the milk I've already started storing - the syringe does not interfere with breastfeeding, so it's a good backup just in case.

I hope you'll find the best option for yourself - we're all different - but I just wanted to add my two cents about the benefits of breastfeeding excluding the nutritional/immunization angle. Good luck with the delivery and the baby!

I wanted to breastfeed Katie but she lost a lot of weight initially and even though I had no problems with her latching on she just wasn't getting enough milk and I was advised to try expressing and formula for a while. I struggled to get much milk when I expressed so it was no wonder Katie wasn't gaining weight.

After 2 weeks for Katie's sake I had to switch to formula and she then started to put on the weight.

Everyone is different and whatever you decide will be the right decision for you. I know breastfed babies that have had colds really early on so its definately a myth that they don't!! Don't beat yourself up over it

I am breastfeeding my 7 month old and he has been thriving. He has never been sick, and is in the 75-90th percentile in weight and 90th percentile in height. Initially for the first 3 weeks, it took some time to get it down for both of us. It is great for your baby and there are added benefits for you. My AF has still not returned and I lost all of my pregnancy weight in 3 months. When you are breastfeeding, you burn 500 extra calories per day!
I pump my breasts every day and freeze the milk so that when I'm not with Andrew, my DH can feed him my milk. It really is a neat bonding experience too. Andrew does not want to take a bottle from me, if I'm holding him in the breastfeeding position. I tried it once and he just pulled away from the bottle and turned his little head to my breast with his mouth wide open.

I was in up in the air about it too. I decided to breast and bottle feed. My daughter spent 8 days in the NICU, so I pumped colostrum and some breast milk for her, and started to breast and bottle after she was there for a few days. I just stopped doing breast a few days ago. She is 4 weeks now. I have to use a plastic nipple sheild because my nipples are flat. When she became more active, she just kept ripping the damn thing off and it wasn't the greatest experience anymore. I don't produce much milk either. She is a hungry girl, and loves her bottle, is gaining weight and is a happy, non-colicly baby.

It really is a personal decision. A friend of mine who gave birth a week before I did is exclusively breast-feeding and she was having a stressful time about it, although she is still doing it. My friend did only bottle and her baby is very healthy. Your decision will come to you when you do have your baby. If you decide not to breast feed, please don't listen to those people who think breastfeeding is the only option that is good for your baby, because it is not.

I totally agree that it is simply a personal choice. I am b-feeding my twins and LOVE it!!! They are 6 weeks old and I would love to do it for at least 18 months. It's just so sweet to share that bond with them and I know they love the time as well.
Also, I was back down to my pre-pregnancy weight in 8 days! WHOOHOO!
Just an added bonus if you ask me!!
Either way, you will know what is right for you. Best of luck to you.
Take care,
Kimberly

It really is a decision that only you can make. You will hear loads of stories - good and bad, and what I will say is that if you become anxious about it, that will affect your experience.

See how things go after the birth and know that either way, your baba will be fine. I breastfed both of mine (still doing it for my 10 month old!) although I've found neither particularly easy, bit I persevered and it did come easier. With my first, I breastfed mainly, with one bottle at the midnight feed (beast milk at first, formula after 3 months) - this was 'daddy love' time After all the stress, when he refused the breast at 7 months I was gutted at the decision he had taken out of my hands. I decided to take the same path with my youngest, but he had his own mind - didn't really like milk and still refuses a bottle so I have no choice but to feed him. Although I love the time with him - I'm ready to stop now! LOL

Anyway, good luck with whatever you decide - just don't stress about it and enjoy your wee one. Good luck!

kholtan wrote:I totally agree that it is simply a personal choice. I am b-feeding my twins and LOVE it!!! They are 6 weeks old and I would love to do it for at least 18 months. It's just so sweet to share that bond with them and I know they love the time as well.Also, I was back down to my pre-pregnancy weight in 8 days! WHOOHOO!Just an added bonus if you ask me!!Either way, you will know what is right for you. Best of luck to you.Take care,Kimberly

Hi Kimberly,
I went thr' thr same struggles as you did and was ready to give up at one point. But miraculously, my baby started nursing after 2 months. I agree that it is a very very difficult experience. I did not do anything but try and nurse followed by pumping during those 2 months. Never even went out. Most people underestimate what it takes a nicu baby to learn to nurse as well as mom's supply to increase.

kholtan wrote:I totally agree that it is simply a personal choice. I am b-feeding my twins and LOVE it!!! They are 6 weeks old and I would love to do it for at least 18 months. It's just so sweet to share that bond with them and I know they love the time as well.Also, I was back down to my pre-pregnancy weight in 8 days! WHOOHOO!Just an added bonus if you ask me!!Either way, you will know what is right for you. Best of luck to you.Take care,Kimberly

Hi Kimberly,I went thr' thr same struggles as you did and was ready to give up at one point. But miraculously, my baby started nursing after 2 months. I agree that it is a very very difficult experience. I did not do anything but try and nurse followed by pumping during those 2 months. Never even went out. Most people underestimate what it takes a nicu baby to learn to nurse as well as mom's supply to increase.